FRESNO COUNTY BOARD OF RETIREMENT



BOARD OF RETIREMENT

FRESNO COUNTY EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION

November 5, 2008

Trustees Present:

Alan Cade, Jr. Michael Cardenas Vicki Crow Nick Cornacchia Ronald S. Frye, Alt. Eulalio Gomez

James E. Hackett Steven Jolly Phil Larson

Trustees Absent:

John Souza

Others Present:

Les Jorgensen, Fresno County Retired Employees’ Association

Ron Madsen, FCERA Member

Robert Skowronski, FCERA Member

Michael Cunningham, FCERA Member

Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates

Jeffrey Rieger, Reed Smith – via tele-conference

Brian Decker, Colliers Tingey

Beau Plum Lee, Colliers Tingey

Susan Coberly, Senior Deputy Counsel

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator

Becky Van Wyk, Assistant Retirement Administrator

Elizabeth Avalos, Administrative Secretary

1. Call to Order

Chair Jolly called the meeting to order at 8:37 AM.

2. Pledge of Allegiance

Recited.

3. Public Presentations

None.

Consent Agenda/Opportunity for Public Comment

On behalf on Les Jorgensen, Fresno County Retired Employees’ Association, Chair Jolly pulled Consent Agenda Item 14 for discussion.

Chair Jolly pulled Consent Agenda Item 15 for discussion.

A motion was made by Trustee Hackett, seconded by Trustee Larson, to Approve Consent Agenda Items 4-13. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Crow)

*4. Approve the October 15-16, 2008 Retirement Board Retreat Meeting Minutes

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

*5. Retirements

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

|Carolyn Aldama |Community Health |10.23 |

|Wayne F. Clarke |Community Health, Deferred |12.48 |

|Susan Davin |Behavioral Health, Deferred |8.78 |

|Mowry Darron Edwards |Behavioral Health |11.69 |

|Olga Espinosa |VMC, Deferred |10.91 |

|Cynthia Gothard |Child Support Services |14.18 |

|Michael Goyette |Fig Garden Fire District, Deferred |0.36 |

|Beverly A. Harris |Superior Court |10.48 |

|Marcia Mcfaddin |E&TA |20.01 |

|Audrey L. Mozaffari |District Attorney, Deferred |27.59 |

|Rachel V. Quinto |Community Health |15.03 |

|Perry Ramos |Child Support Services |19.70 |

|Esther M. Renteria |Superior Court |23.76 |

|Charles R. Silva |Community Health, Deferred |13.30 |

|Samuel Smith |E&TA |17.86 |

| | | |

*6. Deferred Retirements

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

|Bernadette F. Almaguer |Child Support Services |8.71 |

|Karen E. Butler |County Counsel |9.20 |

|Caine Christensen |Children & Family Services |10.77 |

|Elizabeth O. Ehigiator |Community Health |6.59 |

|Marian R. Sanchez |Children & Family Services |8.47 |

|Susan B. Schotters |Sheriff |5.57 |

*7. Disability Retirements

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

|Nelson J. Fowlkes |Probation |0.57 |

*8. Most recent investment returns, performance summaries and general investment information from investment managers

RECEIVED AND FILED

*9. Public Records Requests and/or Retirement Related Correspondence from Joanne Madril, FCERA Member; Carlos Hernandez, FCERA Member; Teri Rothchild, FCERA Member; Michael Cunningham, FCERA Retiree; Ron Madsen, FCERA Member; Edmund Villaluz, FCERA Member; Vivienne Crawford, SEIU Local 521; Lori Poindexter, FCERA Member; and Deborah Anderson, FCERA Member

RECEIVED AND FILED

*10. Update of Board of Retirement directives to FCERA Administration

RECEIVED AND FILED

*11. Budget Status for the periods ending June 30, 2008 and September 30, 2008

RECEIVED AND FILED

*12. Correspondence from Sulema Peterson, SACRS Administrator, regarding the American Academy of Actuaries request that the Actuarial Standards Board develop standards for consistently measuring the economic value of pension plan assets and liabilities. Correspondence includes White Paper from the National Association of Retirement Administrators on Public Pension and Market Value of Liabilities

RECEIVED AND FILED

*13. Correspondence from Enhanced Investment Technologies LLC (INTECH) regarding the retirement of David E. Hurley, Chief Operating Officer

RECEIVED AND FILED

*14. Approve FCERA Interest Crediting and Excess Earnings Policies with recommended changes by your Board at the September 10, 2008 meeting

Les Jorgensen, Fresno County Retired Employees’ Association, noted that, although the policy was developed with the advice of the actuary and legal counsel, he does not believe that the Board has an actual opinion as to whether the policy is consistent with the Settlement Agreement. Mr. Jorgensen expressed his concern that Step 6 of the policy will reduce, if not eliminate, undistributed earnings to the Retirees.

Ron Madsen, FCERA Member, raised concerns that Section VI, Step 1.A. of the policy does not reflect the order or specific amounts that the Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities (UAAL) will be reduced in the Sections 6, 8, and 9 benefits from the Settlement Agreement.

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, stated that the concept of the policy is to reduce the UAAL proportionally to zero for each of the Sections 6, 8, and 9. The policy is designed to allow the Board some discretion as to the details of each step and reflects that the Board must obtain, from FCERA’s actuary, an analysis of the impact on such actions on future annual costs, on FCERA’s contribution rates, UAAL and Funding Ratio, and the advice of legal counsel prior to implementing the processes noted in Section VI Step 1.

A motion was made by Trustee Cornacchia, seconded by Trustee Gomez, to Approve the FCERA Interest Crediting and Excess Earnings Policy as presented. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Crow)

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

*15. Approve Certification of Eulalio Gomez as Duly Nominated and Unopposed for Election as Safety Member Representative. Approve request to place certification on the Board of Supervisors’ December 2, 2008 Agenda

Chair Jolly congratulated Trustee Gomez.

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, noted that, because the Board of Supervisors (BOS) has canceled its December 2, 2008 meeting, the certification will be placed on the BOS’s December 9, 2008 agenda.

A motion was made by Trustee Jolly, seconded by Trustee Cade, to Approve Consent Agenda Item 15 as presented. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Crow)

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

16. Discussion and appropriate action on potential termination of Artisan Partners - Small Cap Growth Equity mandate

Chair Jolly noted the recommendation by Wurts & Associates to terminate Artisan and transfer the assets in kind to Kalmar and inquired as to the reason for the transfer of assets as opposed to using a transitional manager.

Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates, stated that because the mandate is similar to the Kalmar strategy, it is more cost effective to trade in kind than to use a transitional manager.

Discussions ensued regarding Kalmar’s fee structure and a potential fee reduction due to the transfer of assets from Artisan Partners.

A motion was made by Chair Jolly, seconded by Trustee Hackett, to proceed with the termination of Artisan Partners and to give Wurts the flexibility to negotiate a performance based fee arrangement with Kalmar. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Crow)

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

17. Discussion and appropriate action on Western Asset Management Company’s (WAMCO) portfolio’s exposure to Icelandic Banks and the WAMCO account in general

Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates, opened discussions by giving a brief update on WAMCO’s exposure of approximately $2.7 million with three Icelandic banks. Mr. MacLean noted that the government of Iceland converted the banks to government control as a of the current global financial market crisis, the investments have an unrealized loss of approximately $2.6 million.

Mr. MacLean stated that, due to WAMCO’s poor performance and at the request of Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, he is currently in discussions with WAMCO to implement a retroactive performance based fee schedule which will reduce the base fee to 15 basis points. General discussions ensued.

A motion was made by Chair Jolly, seconded by Trustee Larson, to continue discussions with WAMCO to arrange a more favorable fee structure. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Crow)

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

Due to the closely related subject matter, Agenda Items 18 and 19 were heard concurrently.

18. Informational presentation on Hedge Fund of Funds investment environment presented by Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates

Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates (Wurts), began the presentation by noting that the media has been raising concerns about hedge funds in the difficult investing environment. Headlines have addressed significant losses by certain funds, fund closures, massive redemptions, and illiquidity, among other worries. Mr. MacLean stated that, as discussed at the Board Retreat, Wurts maintains the belief that hedge funds have a place within an overall diversified portfolio.

Mr. MacLean gave a brief overview of the results of a survey conducted by Wurts which includes financials exposure, risk and liquidity, and redemption risk profiles of the three firms (Blackstone Partners, EnTrust Diversified, and UBP ARV) that took part in a hedge fund of funds roundtable discussion during the Board Retreat.

The survey focused on the type of investors that are invested or would be invested alongside FCERA in these funds and flagged any non-US or retail assets as they may represent “hot money” that may redeem assets quickly and irrationally leaving remaining investors with an impaired fund. In addition, the survey evaluated redemption requests to date and gathered data on certain stresses on underlying hedge funds.

The survey revealed that overall Blackstone Partners looks to be well positioned as both the firm and fund have high net inflow of funds. When evaluating the two potential managers, UBP and EnTrust, UBP looks to be more at-risk than EnTrust. UBP has a net outflow of assets as well as one fund currently in liquidation. Although EnTrust is a smaller manager, the fund has less flagged assets [categories that may have higher risk of redemption] as a percentage of assets under management. EnTrust also has a higher percentage of investors with liquidity quarterly or longer which means there is a less likelihood of “hot money” leaving the fund. Significant and positive inflows year-to-date for Blackstone and EnTrust are a benefit as both managers will not be focused on finding liquidity to meet client redemptions in the final months of 2008, but instead will be able to focus on managing assets and finding opportunities for investment returns.

However, as a result of the current volatility in the markets which has been significantly influenced by the deleveraging of hedge funds and their liquidation requirements, Mr. MacLean recommended funding the hedge fund allocation to Blackstone Partners after the FCERA Hedge Fund of Fund due diligence is completed. This will provide for further education to the

Board on this issue and will give some time for the industry to settle following these troubled financial markets. General discussions ensued.

Trustee Crow joined the Board at 9:20 AM.

Robert Skowronski, FCERA Retiree, expressed his concern regarding the Board’s decision to venture into hedge funds due to the high risk factor. Mr. MacLean noted that the return profile for hedge funds has redeeming qualities when properly diversified.

RECEIVED AND FILED

19. Discussion and appropriate action on Blackstone Partners Hedge Fund of Funds investment allocation

Please see Item 18 for discussion.

A motion was made by Chair Jolly, seconded by Trustee Gomez, to Approve the recommendation to delay additional funding to Blackstone until later in the due diligence process. VOTE: Unanimous

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

20. Discussion and appropriate action Manager Recommendation for Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) Index Fund Option

Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates, opened the discussion by noting that Treasury Inflation Protected Securities are a safe investment in that they are issued by the US Treasury with the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

As the result of a search conducted by Wurts, three TIPS candidates were selected for the Board’s consideration, Barclays Global Investors, State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), and The Vanguard Group.

Mr. MacLean noted that the three strategies offer low-cost access to performance similar to that of the index. Of the three options, Wurts recommends utilizing the SSgA US TIPS Index Strategy. Not only is it the lowest cost option, it also as displayed the lowest tracking error versus the benchmark over the most recent five-year period. Additionally, because FCERA has an ongoing relationship with State Street’s indexing group, Wurts may be able to negotiate a bundled management fee agreement based upon the combined assets of both funds.

General discussions ensued regarding TIPS as it relates to inflation and the tracking error of the three candidates. It was noted that SSgA has the lowest tracking error of the three candidates.

At the request of Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, Mr. MacLean explained the search processes and procedures that lead to the three candidates.

A motion was made by Chair Jolly, seconded by Trustee Cade, to Approve Agenda Item 20 as recommended and begin contract negotiations with SSgA and to direct Administration to invite SSgA to present/review the current strategies and custodian relationship. VOTE: Unanimous

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

21. Discussion and appropriate action on Wurts & Associates Investment Consultant Contract

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, opened discussions by reminding the Board that on September 17, 2008 Administration was directed to negotiate a contract with Wurts & Associates (Wurts) for General Investment Consulting services.

Mr. Peña noted that during negotiations in was determined that Wurts originally proposed full reimbursement of travel and lodging fees in the Request for Proposal response while the Board requested an all inclusive fee proposal. It was noted that the current version of the agreement contains a “middle of the road” approach suggested by Wurts in that they bear the costs associated with travel and lodging for their attendance at the Regular Board meetings while FCERA will pay for their travel and lodging expenses for any travel required in addition to the Regular Board meetings, such as due diligence visits.

Jeffrey MacLean, Wurts & Associates, stated that any travel and lodging expenses in addition to the Regular Board meetings will be billed at cost to FCERA.

A motion was made by Trustee Cardenas, seconded by Trustee Crow, to Approve the Investment Consultant Contract with Wurts & Associates as presented. VOTE: Unanimous

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

Trustee Larson departed at 11:00 AM.

22. Discussion and appropriate action on whether FCERA has been calculating Non-Service Connected Disability retirement allowances according to the appropriate formulas, whether FCERA's calculation method should change and whether FCERA's policy regarding overpayment of retirement benefits should be applied with respect to payments to retirees that were based on the formulas FCERA has been using since 2001

Fiduciary Counsel Jeffrey Rieger, Reed Smith, opened discussions by stating that based on advice from County Counsel in 2001 FCERA has been calculating Non-Service Connected Disability (NSCD) retirement allowances in accordance with formulas that were included in proposed legislation that was eventually vetoed by former Governor Davis, and therefore never became law.

Based on this information, Fiduciary Counsel, recommends that FCERA cease this practice and instead calculate NSCD retirement allowances in accordance with the applicable provisions in the County Employees Retirement Law section 31727 for general members and section 31727.2 for safety members. This change should apply to existing and future NSCD retirees.

Attorney Rieger further recommended that FCERA apply its policy regarding overpayment of retirement benefits with respect to past payments to retirees that have been based on the non-existent section 31727.11.

In response to a question from Chair Jolly regarding the Governor’s decision to veto the legislation, Attorney Rieger explained that the Governor vetoed the legislation because legislation had already been approved that increased the public retirement benefits across the State and the new code section would create benefits that would be higher than anywhere else in the State.

Attorney Rieger stated that there is nothing in the law or Settlement Agreement that provides for the use of this vetoed formula and noted that there are approximately 18 members currently receiving an increased NSCD benefit under this formula.

Discussions, questions, and comments followed regarding tabling the item until further information is gathered and the affected membership could be notified and given time to address the Board on the issue.

Attorney Rieger reminded the Board that when a member receives public funds to which they are not entitled by law, the Board is to cease the practice in a reasonable/timely manner and make reasonable efforts to recover past overpayments.

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, stated that it is reasonable for the Board to table the matter and direct Administration to notify the affected members as to a date that they could share their comments and thoughts with the Board. Discussions ensued regarding the processes in which members will be notified of the potential changes to their retirement benefits. It was noted that each member will be notified of the issue by telephone and a follow up letter.

A motion was made by Chair Jolly, seconded by Trustee Gomez, to Table the Item until January 21, 2009, direct Administration to work with Counsel to develop a letter, and notify the members of the issue by telephone prior to sending the letter.

Attorney Rieger recommended that the Board hear from County Counsel and other member employers regarding their positions on the issue.

Chair Jolly restated the motion as follows:

To table the meeting until January 21, 2009 and direct Administration to complete the calculations, format a letter, notify the affected members by telephone prior to sending the letters, notify appropriate County departments and other employers and organizations of the issue. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Larson)

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

23. Informational presentation regarding public retirement system issues currently under consideration by the Internal Revenue Service

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, apprised the Board of issues that are currently being considered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in particular, (1) Determination Letters and (2) the concept of Normal Retirement Age. Mr. Peña noted that the issues will be discussed at the SACRS Fall Conference and encouraged those Trustees attending the conference to participate in the discussion.

It was noted that Determination Letters may be obtained by tax qualified retirement plans, like FCERA, to receive confirmation from the IRS that they are in compliance with IRS rules.  In May 2008, the IRS reported that it wanted all public pension plans to file a request for a Determination Letter before January 31, 2009.  This caused great concern for public retirement systems across California (and the rest of the country) because of the unique challenges that public retirement systems face due to the fact that their state laws usually are not fully harmonized with IRS rules.  

It now appears that the IRS will likely push back the date by which it would like to receive Determination Letter requests to January 31, 2011.  The administrators of the retirement systems subject to the County Employees Retirement Law ("CERL") have been working together to find an efficient and sensible way to work with the IRS on a collective basis and to that extent created a committee to facilitate this process. 

 

Normal Retirement Age is a concept that appears in several IRS rules, but the CERL does not define a Normal Retirement Age (except for certain provisions that apply only to the Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association).  This issue exists for many public retirement systems across the country and is well known to the IRS.  Earlier this year, the California Legislature was considering a bill that included provisions that would have expressly granted authority to CERL retirement systems to establish a Normal Retirement Age.

FCERA staff was monitoring the status of that bill, and expected to bring this issue to the Board for appropriate action after the bill passed.  Staff learned, however, that the Normal Retirement Age provisions in the bill were stricken before the bill passed.  The IRS and many public retirement systems are in the process of trying to figure out how to deal with this issue.

General discussions ensued. It was noted that Administration will continue to monitor the issue and keep the Board apprised of any further information. 

RECEIVED AND FILED

24. Discussion and appropriate action on SACRS voting issues

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, opened discussions by reminding the Board that at a previous meeting the Board had nominated Trustee Crow as the Voting Delegate at the upcoming SACRS Fall Conference.

The SACRS 2009 Legislative Proposals approved or reviewed the SACRS Legislative Committee for SACRS sponsorship, were briefly reviewed as follows:

o Santa Barbara #1 – Clarification of applicability of survivor benefits formulas. Optional survivor benefits formulas exist in the 1937 Act in 31855.8 and 31855.12. This proposal specifies that either formula is available in various survivor circumstances if one or the other is adopted by the county board of supervisors.

Attorney Susan Coberly, Senior Deputy County Counsel, stated that Santa Barbara #1 makes sense for counties and retirement systems to which it is applicable. It does not appear to be applicable to Fresno County at this time. However, should it wish to do so, the Board could support its sister county, Santa Barbara, in this proposal.

o Tax Conformity – This measure will include various modifications to the 1937 Act to ensure compliance with Internal Revenue Code and regulatory provisions. The SACRS Legislative Committee has recommended Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association (LACERA) #1 be included in this proposed bill. LACERA #1 proposes to conform the 1937 Act with IRS regulations related to Section 415 limits and how Cost of Living Adjustments are impacted by the limit.

Attorney Coberly noted that the Tax Conformity measure makes sense in that we do not want a law in place that would adversely impact members. Attorney Coberly deferred to the recommendation by LACERA’s general counsel noting that LACERA is the advocate of the language changes and has considerable expertise in this area.

Mr. Peña recommended that the Board support both measures.

A motion was made by Trustee Hackett, seconded by Trustee Gomez, to direct Voting Delegate Crow to support the measures presented. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent – Larson)

RECEIVED AND FILED; APPROVED

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, pulled Closed Session Agenda Items 25.A.2. and 25.A.3. as there was nothing to discuss.

25. Closed Session:

A. Conference with Legal Counsel – Actual Litigation - pursuant to G.C. §54956.9(a)

1. Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Public Pension Professionals

2. North Central Fire Protection District v. Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association

3. Marsha Stillman v. Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association

B. Conference with Real Property Negotiators – pursuant to G.C. §54956.8

Property: 1713 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721

Agency Negotiators: Brian Decker of Colliers Tingey

Negotiating Party: Any potential qualified buyer

Under Negotiation: Price and terms of sale

C. Disability Retirement Applications – Personnel Exception – pursuant to G.C. §54957

1. Michael Delgado

2. James Papaleo

26. Report from Closed Session

25.A.1. Nothing to Report.

25.A.2. Pulled.

25.A.3 Pulled.

25.B. The Board established parameters for price and terms.

25.C.1. Michael Delgado – Decision – To approve Mr. Delgado’s Service Connected Disability benefits based on the Findings of Fact and Decision and find that there was no evidence to rebut that the heart condition did not arise out of and in the course of Applicant’s employment. M – Hackett. S – Jolly. VOTE: Unanimous. Abstain – Cardenas. Absent – Crow, Larson.

25.C.2. James Papaleo – Decision – To direct the Administrator to notify the applicant that the application for Service Connected Disability benefits will be denied unless the applicant requests a hearing. M – Jolly. S – Hackett. VOTE: Unanimous. Absent – Crow, Larson.

Trustee Crow departed at 12:25 PM.

27. Report from FCERA Administration

Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, reported on the following items:

1. The Board of Supervisors tabled FCERA’s Salary Resolution request for the Benefits Unit reorganization until later in the Spring.

2. Reminded the Trustees that the Communications packet contains information related to current Retirement financial issues.

28. Report from County Counsel

Susan Coberly, Senior Deputy County Counsel, had nothing to report.

29. Board Member Announcements or Reports

Trustee Cardenas requested that Administration research whether Alternate Trustees are able to take part in discussions on the Committee level on behalf of an absent Trustee. Administration agreed.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:21 PM.

Roberto L. Peña

Secretary to the Board

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